Company Research Assignment –Motorola Inc.
August 2006 by Ruyue Jin
Company Overview
Motorola is a public listed company in NYSE. Its annual sales revenue in 2005 reached $36,843 million, which is about 18% higher than the $31,323 million in 2004. Such increase in Sales is mainly attributed to the40%growth in shipments of wireless handsets of approximately 146 million units in 2005, compared to 2004.
There are four divisions within the company, which are:
Mobile Devices, 58% of the Company's consolidated net sales, designs, manufactures, sells and serviceswireless handsets, with integrated software and accessory products.
Government and Enterprise Mobility Solutions, 18% of the Company's consolidated net sales, provides wireless communications systems,devices, networks and applications for government and public safety markets, enterprise organizations, and automobile manufacturers worldwide.
Networks, 17% of the Company's consolidated net sales, designs, manufactures, sells, installs and services cellular infrastructure systems, FTTP andFTTN transmission systems and wirelessbroadband systems.
Connected Home Solutions, 8% of the Company's consolidated net sales, designs, manufactures and sells a wide variety ofbroadband products.
The estimated global market share for year 2005 is 18%.
The open position for internship covers all the four divisions and four supply chain functions, and locations may not be finalized until you are assigned to the specific position. My interest lies in the function of Global Logistics and Distribution for its Mobile Devices division.
Company Strategy
News:partnership with Tata Teleservice in India; new product launch; 3-year service contract signed with MTC; Marketing campaign; Disclosure of involvement in SEC bankruptcy inquiry
The above news reflects the company’s focus on its biggest Mobile Devices business, which is my target division.
After disagreeing with the board of directors about Motorola's future in late 2003, Chris Galvin retired as chairman and CEO and Ed Zander, took over in 2004 becoming the first person from outside the Galvin family to lead the company.The company in 2004 acquired embedded computing systems Force Computers from Solectron and passive optical networking equipment maker QuantumBridge. Motorola handed off its stake in StarCore when it spun off its semiconductor operations as Freescale Semiconductor in 2004 too.The company also sold its automotive products unitto German auto supplier Continental. Motorola's restructuring included selling some IT services units, shifting some production to contractors, and using extensive layoffs to reduce costs.
Such restructuring activities adjusted the resources and focus of the company for the better development of its four clear-cut business divisions.
Career
Sample supply chain intern assignments include, but are not limited to:
Identifying the key methodologies utilized across Motorola's customer fulfillment centers for new product introductions with regard to "box opening" quality checks.Identify industry methodologies and make recommendations/ initiate best practice implementation. Process mapping, analysis, and recommendations for streamlining the planning (inventory management/ materials management) functions of our largest all-Motorola customer fulfillment center, spanning all four businesses.
Hiring Process
The company will conduct the on-campus interviews at MSU. The company did hire one of our MBAs in 2004 and we can find about 100 alumni at Motorola though most of them are not MBAs. Supply Chain Intern candidates will not be interviewing for a specific intern opening, but will rather have the opportunity to express their particular areas of interest.If the candidate is selected, Motorola representatives, throughout the interview process, will determine the best fit intern position for the candidate, based on candidate interest areas and background/ qualifications.
Specific Knowledge:
1.MBA, Supply Chain Management or Logistics concentration or equivalent preferred.
2. Experience in related field preferred.
3. Analytical/problem solving skills, data acquisition skills
4. Strong leadership/ strategic thinking skills
5. Strong results orientation
6. Good interpersonal/communication skills and ability to operate within a team environment
7. Good organizational/time/ project management skills, including daily/weekly planning
8. Basic computer skills to include Microsoft applications
Sources: Hoovers, MSU Broad Career Services